Also known as Bloody Bird. Also Known as Deliria. Also known as Aquarius. Also known as the one with the giant owl chasing theatricals with a chainsaw. One of the last original slasher movies, Shameless Films present Michele Soavi’s 1987 Italian classic in a fresh 4k restoration on blu-ray as a festive treat for those who love stylish horror; light on violence, clever in conceit and startling in execution, it’s every bit as much of a hoot as the poster suggests. Slasher movies are often derided as the lowest common denominator of mainstream cinema, but Soavi elevates the material to something rather special with his technical bravura.
Credibility isn’t an issue when you have a power-tool-wielding giant-owl hacking his way through a group of actors locked into a theatre, so it’s best just to go with the flow. David Brandon plays Peter, who is directing a play about a fictional killer known as The Night Owl. But a real serial killer escapes from a nearby institution and kills one of Peter’s crew, and the police are summoned. While two cops sit oblivious in their car outside, Peter decides to incorporate the murder into his show’s new direction, but the killer dons the Night Owl costume and starts taking his bloody revenge…
From the fake-out opening onwards, Soavi has plenty of tricks up his sleeve; the owl costume is ingeniously used, with one of the actors donning a spare costume, with the result being that the audience are never sure if we’re looking at the real killer or his understudy. The escape from the institution is artfully done in roughly five seconds of screen time, and as the set-pieces pile up, Soavi saves the best for last with a dynamic twenty minute climax that really deserves the accolade of Hitchcock-ian; our heroine Alicia (Barbara Cupisti) has to find the key to the theatre door, but it’s lodged between two floor-boards on the stage where the killer is currently building a tableau of corpses. Most slashers fizzle out, but such great visuals help Stagefright rise to heights of operatic tension.
With vibrant colours, cool effects and a cavernous theatre as a setting, Stagefright shows just how dramatic a simple horror idea can be; while the acting is passable and the dialogue has some wit, it’s the slickness of the whole package that makes Stagefright worth seeking out for genre fans. Soavi went on to even better things with his all-time classic Dellamorte Dellamorte in 1994, but the talent was there from the get-go, and a blu-ray of Stagefright is well worth blowing your festive vouchers on.
Shameless Films presents Stagefright on Blu-ray and digital on demand from 27 December 2021
https://www.shameless-films.com/product/stagefright-blu-ray/
Caught quite a few of the Shameless releases and can’t believe I’ve never even heard of this giant owl serial killer. My granny told me to keep out of the way if I ever saw an owl carrying a chainsaw. Of course like Prohibition gangsters they might have hid one in a violin case, but as far as I know I did as I was told.
It’s always a harbinger of something bad, even without the chainsaw….many Italian rip-off horror films are below par, but this is classy stuff…
I shall get down to my local Shameless joint.
That poster is strangely terrifying! There’s always been something “off” about owls. Especially owls wielding chainsaws.
That is an uncanny observation. Now that I think about it, seeing owls of human size carrying chainsaws has almost always led to bad events in my life. I wonder why I never noticed this before, it happens to you too?
Almost every night after I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.
It struts up and down the street outside my house, I’ll be glad when it finds some alternative occupation. Never trust a 6 foot owl with a power tool. FaCt!
And people usually think I’m crazy when I talk about this. Weird.
We will break the taboo together. These things are a real problem. Time to speak up. We must be heard.
I’ll get in touch with David Icke. I think he’s the best person to represent us.
Good choice. Any Grandstand or BBC sports presenter will do. I was going to suggest Sue Barker or David Coleman…
😂🤣 Ah, David Coleman. Those were the days
A visionary. We can still learn so much from him, much like Frank Bough himself.
It’s called “Bloody Bird” over here in good french. 😉
It’s been long since I’ve seen this creative killer in action. When Mike Myers meets the Phantom of the Opera/Paradise, under Soavi’s brush it’s an experience to remember. And you tell us very well.
It’s a super example of the genre, really ingenious and well made. Under any name, it’s a winner!
And the winner kills them all. 😉
In fabulous headgear too…
This does look fun, I laughed when I saw the mad birdy picture anyway.
Is the correct answer. And we’ve eliminated Thor, Big Lebowski and Gandalf from the pic compo.
Did you check my email? I think I have more than 8 now. 🙂
I thought I’d responded! You are now a front runner with ten, and entities to have TWO guesses at the tricky no 21.not Thor, Gandalf or Jeff Bridges.
You missed the email prior to the one you’ve responded to 🙂 more than 10 I think.
I’ll had Price/Waterhouse look into this and your current score is an impressive 17. Three swings of the bat….
I think that cover about covers it all. A chainsaw wielding guy in an owl costume with the word “Shameless” in the lower left. Yep, that says it all.
Nice you could appreciate the 4K upgrade. What kind of tv do you have?
A colour tv.
eye roll *
I dub thee “Sherlock”…..
A Sony Bravia
We’ve got an emerson. 32in. I like it well enough but I have noticed the color scheme on it makes peoples’ skin look very pale. I don’t know, or care, enough to play around with the settings to get it more lifelike.
Next time I do get a tv though, I won’t be getting an emerson.
I’d certainly get a Bravia again, it’s lasted ten years and the picture is great. It’s worth footering with the controls to get things looking right, skin tones are important. Particularly for the kinds of worthy films we both reviewed today. Has to be just right.
I’ll add a vote for the Bravia too, and for footering.
It’s a good tv, will keep it going as long as possible…
Yes we think the same. Though Phil wants mor inches on the next one.
When I’m visiting friends, and I see a really big one, I usually feel I don’t fancy it. Mine was huge back in the day, and I still think it’s more than big enough for my needs.
Indeed.
Wouldn’t want to mistake that owl for a vampire owl by accident 🙂
There’s one about six feet tall outside my house most nights…
I don’t think I’ve seen this. Pretty sure I’d remember it if I had. But it’s bookmarked now.
It’s a hoot. Can’t use that line enough.